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Common Characteristics of the Person with Autism
Common Characteristics of the Person with Autism
| Speech Issues | no speech; non-speech sounds; delayed speech; echolalia (mimicing words without any understanding of meaning); pronoun confusion; frustration with lack of speech common |
| Interaction Issues | lack of peer interaction; lack of eye contact; seemingly unaware of other people; treating people as objects; parallel play rather than interactive; lack of imaginative play |
| Behavioral Issues | not interested in being picked up/cuddled; preoccupied by hand movement; flapping hands (especially when excited or over stimulated); spinning; balancing; tiptoe walking; aggressiveness towards others; lack of interest in "normal" toys (often preferring kitchen tools); obsessive toward patterns; repetition in behavior (performing the same act over and over again, such as rewinding one section of a movie on the VCR to watch many times); lining things up; self injury; needing to live with a routine that does not change |
| Sensory Issues | dislike of certain sounds, textures and/or tastes; dislike of being touched; very passive or very active behavior; nervousness; unaware of various physical stimuli such as pain; covering ears at loud noises; "blanking out" in active environments; often seem to be uncomfortable in extreme temperatures |
| Splinter Skills | drawing; musical; math; calendars; memory; computers; mechanical ability such as complex video/audio equipment |
| Biological Markers | MRI scans sometimes abnormal; serotonin levels may be raised; bowel problems; some children afflicted with seizures; sleep disturbances (not requiring as much as other children of the same age); often unusually attractive children with large eyes |